A power splitter/combiner known as the Wilkinson power splitter/combiner is shown in FIG. 1. It is a three port device having ports 4, 6 and 8. Impedance Z.sub.0, 10, may represent either a combining load or a source impedance. Transmission media 12 and 14 may be any sort of a transmission line such as open wire line, coaxial cable, waveguide, etc. Each line 12, 14 has a characteristic impedance equal to .sqroot.2Z.sub.0 as shown. The right end of the each of these lines is connected via impedance 16 which has a value of 2Z.sub.0. Ports 6 and 8 are connected to impedances 22 and 24, each of these impedances having a value of Z.sub.0. The splitter/combiner of FIG. 1 may be considered as a splitter if input port 4 is connected to a source of signal energy. In this case output ports 6 and 8 will each produce one-half of the input power less, of course, the losses in the system. Impedance 10, Z.sub.0, represents the source impedance of the generator supplying the input power. Impedances 22 and 24, each having a value of Z.sub.0, represent the load impedance of the two split loads. Each of the transmission media 12 and 14 are an odd multiple of one-quarter wavelength long in whatever the media provided. If the network of FIG. 1 is to be used as a power combiner, impedances 22 and 24 represent the source impedances of two source power generators. Impedance 10, also having a value of Z.sub.0, represents the impedance of the load.
It may be seen that the Wilkinson design of FIG. 1 is limited in that the input and output impedances are all equal to Z.sub.0. The design does not facilitate the use of different input and output impedances regardless of whether it is used as a combiner or a splitter. Where input and output impedances are required to be different, prior art systems have typically accomplished the required matching by adding electrical transformer elements at input and/or output ports. (Not shown.) These transformers may take the form of odd multiples of quarter wavelengths of transmission media having a characteristic impedance determined by the required input and output impedances which must be matched. This solution to the problem tends to provide a relatively expensive and bulky network. The larger networks reduce efficiency in terms of system losses.